Selecting A Good, Sound Horse

For the horseman, selecting a good sound horse is as important as buying a new vehicle is to most Americans. One can feel the adrenaline run through the body at the thought of looking at a new horse. There are significant differences though in buying horses and buying vehicles. The decision should be thought through very carefully. Your not buying something mechanical that can be turned off when something goes wrong. Your buying a living breathing creature made by God that thinks and has feelings, and needs care whether you’re in the mood or not, tired or not, or whether you have the time or not. In many cases the horse comes with a past that has had an impact on his behavior today. With that in mind, we as buyers need to do an evaluation of ourselves. We need to take a long, hard, honest look at our abilities and our strengths and weaknesses. How much of a horseman am I? Do I have the skills, patience and desire to develop this horse to it’s potential? Can I afford it? Do I have the time? Am I getting this horse to do a job or task? Am I buying this horse simply for entertainment? Truly there are many things to consider when buying a horse. Following are three primary things to consider when buying a horse.

Firstly, it is very important to select a horse with a good and pleasing disposition. Whether you are buying a horse to perform a specific task or you are developing your brood mare string it is important to consider disposition. Life is too short to have to deal with an ill tempered or naturally timid or spooky horse each day. Though your skills may be good enough to help this horse you wouldn’t want a horse like this in your breeding program. Remember what the old timers say, "like breeds like". When evaluating a horse’s disposition consider the horse’s attitude toward people as well as other horses. Is it friendly and easy-going? Where in the pecking order does it rank? Consider the horse’s environment and surroundings. Is the horse curious and outgoing? Consider the horse’s owners, handlers and trainers. Is the horse respectful and willing to please? It is also important to consider the horse’s lineage. Ask about his registration papers and research the pedigree. The more we know about the prospective horse the better we can determine whether it will fit into our program.

Another equally important area to consider when purchasing a horse is conformation. This is how a horse is built and put together. This area needs to be considered from both a practical and performance standpoint as well as from the perspective of eye appeal. The most important thing to remember about conformation is balance. A good horse should look like his body parts match. Personally, I look for a horse with a nice short and strong back. I look for a horse with a long and straight underline. I look for a long sloping hip and a long and sloping shoulder. I want the angles of the hips and shoulders to match. In evaluating the horse’s body from the side I look for a balanced trapezoid. When evaluating a horse from the front I imagine a string hanging from the point of the horse’s shoulder all the way to the ground in front of each foreleg. I want to see the string in the center of the knee and again at the center of the ankle pastern and hoof. If not then the horse is likely crooked legged and I don’t want to take the risk of lameness nor do I want this characteristic passed on to future generations. While still in front of the horse I look for short and strong looking cannon bones set between healthy appearing joints and standing above healthy well cared for hooves. When evaluating a horse for balance of conformation from the rear I imagine a string hanging down from the point of the horse’s hip to the ground. Again, I look for straightness and balance. While in the rear I look for length and width of the horses rump and stifle. Personally I like big hips and strong stifles. I must again emphasize balance and over-all eye appeal when evaluating conformation. Whether a horse will be used for riding or breeding it is important to consider the characteristics needed to perform at what ever you do with your horse. Not only will the horse be more efficient at its job but these characteristics may be passed on to future generations.

Lastly, consider a horse’s color. Though the color won’t help the horse perform or behave it sure can please the eye. Color can also be representative of the breed. Few things displease me more than seeing a paint horse without white or an appaloosa without spots. What’s the point? Though I am not a breeder of either of these I do recognize that their unique color is a characteristic of the breed therefore it should be strongly considered when making a buying decision. Standing up for the characteristic of the breed is what gives each breed it’s integrity. To me, protecting the integrity of the breed is just another part of being a horseman. Though color and eye appeal is important and is a real bonus it ranks last on my priority list. What good is the prettiest horse in the world if it isn’t sound and you can’t handle it?

Paying close attention to these three primary areas will help in selecting a good sound horse.